Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Smartphones at work: a major distraction?

Texting at work - good for business or a 21st century necessity?
Texting at work - good for business or a 21st century necessity?

The average British worker spends as many as 120 hours per year using their smartphones in the workplace, according to new research.

Research of 2,012 adults in the UK carried out by gadgets and technology etailer, LaptopsDirect.co.uk, has revealed more than three quarters (84%) admit to using their smartphones during working hours.

Three quarters (78%) regularly respond to text messages during working hours, and 59% regularly take personal phone calls whilst working.

The use of smartphones for personal reasons is a sensitive subject as calls such as doctors appointments, and other life admin chores can only be made during typical working hours. However, the survey uncovered use of smartphones beyond simply calls and text messages.

52% also admitted to answering instant messages via platforms such as Whatsapp and Facebook.

Almost 1 in 10 (9%) have sent a Snapchat from their workplace, showing there really is no place safe from a selfie.

However, 44% of respondents said their workplace permitted reasonable use of smartphones during working hours, with workplaces also operating a bring your own device policy which further blurs the lines.

But it seems that we can’t resist a peek at our personal profiles when working, with more than a third (38%) confessing to regularly checking their social media accounts while on the job.

Those working in marketing were the worst culprits, with almost all (98%) admitting to peeking at smartphones, followed by those working in information and communications (96%).

Almost two thirds (64%) of retail workers and three quarters of trades workers (78%) also admitted to using their personal phones during working hours.

Mark Kelly, marketing manager at LaptopsDirect.co.uk, said: “It’s no surprise that we are addicted to our smartphones however overuse during working hours can add up, leaving a serious shortfall in productivity. Although companies monitor and prohibit the use of social media during the working day, the research shows that there is still a large amount of people continuing to use their device.

“Use of smartphones and social media in the workplace can lead to hundreds of thousands of hours in lost productivity per year, which could cost UK companies millions of pounds. 120 hours is the equivalent to 15 full working days, or 3 weeks of 5 working days which is quite staggering.”

A defiant 14% have been told off for using smartphones at work, while just 4% have been disciplined for use of their own tech during work time.

Unsurprisingly, those aged 18-24 were most likely to use personal tech in the workplace, followed by those aged 25-34.

Laptops Direct is the UK’s largest online laptop specialist, selling a wide range of new and refurbished laptops from leading brands, as well as a wide range of other lifestyle gadgets.

For more information, visit www.laptopsdirect.co.uk

The Top 10 Business Sectors Who Use Smartphones

1. Marketing – 98%

2. Information and communications – 96%

3. Creative and photographic – 92%

4. Professional service (law, accountancy) – 86%

5. Trades (construction, plumbing) – 78%

6. Manufacturing – 74%

7. Retail – 64%

8. Transportation – 48%

9. Education – 44%

10. Healthcare – 23%